


Queen Merlin

by Tamasha



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Era, Closeted Character, Fluff, Gay, Happy Ending, Humor, Kissing, Love, M/M, Male Slash, Marriage Proposal, Relationship(s), Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-01
Updated: 2015-07-01
Packaged: 2018-04-07 01:40:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4244730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tamasha/pseuds/Tamasha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur's world is perfect except for one thing: he is not yet married to his lover, Merlin. He does not think his council would be happy with him for marrying a man, so Merlin comes up with an idea to get around them knowing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Queen Merlin

**Author's Note:**

> written by Tamara

Even in the darkness Arthur could see Merlin’s unique beauty. The slender figure that lay in his bed moved slightly with a slow sleepy breathing. It was all Arthur could do not to straddle the manservant and pin him down till neither could kiss anymore. He was utterly and completely in love and so very happy. Four years of being king brought with it a tranquil peace. As of this past year, Camelot no longer had enemies. All the kingdoms had been united under Arthur’s rule, miraculously. Arthur could take the credit for this - he was king after all - but he knew that there was no way he could have accomplished all that he had in the past four years without Merlin by his side.

Fast asleep, the king's manservant was naked in the royal bed. He was in this state most nights, but Arthur still relished in the contentment that it brought with that man there. Arthur truly had everything. The only thing missing from his life was a consort.

Arthur knew without a doubt who that should be: the man whom he loved more than anything. The man who gave him courage. The man who loved him unconditionally. The king’s right hand man. The most powerful sorcerer ever to walk this earth. The man in his bed. Merlin. Arthur wanted more than anything to wake his manservant and tell him all these things immediately. He wanted to ask Merlin to be his consort and live out his days helping to build a stronger Albion, and to be with Arthur till the end of time itself. But he couldn’t.

Despite all the changes Arthur had made as king, marrying a man still was not a thing he felt he could do. There certainly wasn't anything wrong with it, or wrong with Merlin, it was just something that Arthur was uncertain the people could accept. And the council. The council would react worse than the way Arthur expected his people to react. No, Arthur couldn’t find a way to deal with all that or justify it. But he wanted to more than anything.

"That's it," Arthur said resolutely, unaware that he had spoken out loud. "I'm going to do do it." With that, the king rose from his bed and gathered his robe from the floor.

"Do what?" a groggy voice from the bed asked softly.

"Oh," Arthur breathed, "I didn’t mean to wake you."

Merlin sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Before speaking again his mouth opened to the most adorable yawn. "What are you going to do, Arthur?"

The king moved to the bedside, kneeling before his manservant. "Don't worry about it, Merlin. I just need to tell the council something."

"Arthur," Merlin sternly objected. "Tell me."

As strong as Arthur was, every time he saw Merlin’s earnest blue eyes he went weak in the knees. "I want to marry you. I'm going to demand that the council allows this to be so."

Merlin shook his head, forcing away a smile. "You are so - well besides being wonderful, you are an idiot."

"Hey!" Arthur protested. "Let's forget for a moment that that is my word - why am I an idiot?"

"They would only annul the marriage once it was done. They will never agree. And what about the people? I love you Arthur, but I understand why you have kept me a secret for so long. I couldn’t bear it if there was unrest in the land because of me. I wouldn’t want you to go through that. I only want you, Arthur. I don’t care about the rest of the world; you are my world, you stinky, fat, prat."

"Merlin." Arthur wanted to object to the last bit, but Merlin was being increasingly charming and even the insults made Arthur’s heart flutter. "Gods, I love you," he huffed into the nape of Merlin’s neck.

Merlin pulled the king over him and captured his lips in a sloppy kiss. "I love you forever."

"Then marry me," Arthur begged breathlessly.

Merlin gave a snarky grin and nodded his head. "Without any doubt in my mind, I would marry you a thousand times over."

"Good -"

"But," Merlin cut in, "I am still a man, and it can't be public."

This was true. Despite everything Arthur wanted and all the fantasies he had about his future, Merlin being a man still would create too much tension in the kingdom. Not only for Camelot; the new fragile treaties Arthur had worked so hard to achieve might crumble at the alarming news of a male consort within the walls of Camelot and he could never forgive himself for that. To leave his kingdom vulnerable was something Arthur was not willing to do. His love for his kingdom and his love for Merlin were once again at odds. "So what do we do?" The king finally asked softly.

"You know I have magic, right?” Merlin asked devilishly.

Gods, what was his manservant thinking? Arthur sat up, still straddling Merlin. "What are you planning in that little brain of yours?"

"I've made myself a woman before, remember?"

"Merlin," Arthur warned, not liking where this was going.

"I've also forged documents to make a peasant look like a noble.”

This was starting to make some sense, and Arthur wasn’t sure how he felt about it. "Fine, Merlin. I'll go along with this idea for a moment. Please tell me, who is going to actually believe I've met a princess from a far off kingdom that I am willing to marry, right at the same time as the disappearance of my manservant, whom most of the kingdom believes to be my lover, who also happenes to have magic?"

"Nobody's that smart; they won't figure it out. And even if they do, I'd be a woman of nobility, they couldn’t accuse me of anything." He had a playful look about him, like this was a game.

"No. This is foolish. Plus, you are forgetting one very important thing."

"What's that?" Merlin queried with a quirky grin.

"If I wanted to marry a woman, I would have found myself a woman to marry already." Arthur tackled Merlin on the bed and tickled his manservant mercilessly until the other man couldn’t breathe anymore.

They both calmed, laughing only sparsely. "So you just like me for my body?"

"Merlin. Shut up."

He let his grin return with a vengeance and then he settled in, hugging his king. "You know I would do anything to make you happy, right?"

"I know," Arthur replied thoughtfully. "I just want you simply to be you. Nothing else."

"Would a dress really change all that much about me?"

"Merlin!" Arthur whined.

Merlin sat up and faced his king, squaring his shoulders. "Seriously. I want to marry you, and if this was a way to do that without causing an uproar...  well, I'd do it. I want to be with you."

"It'd be a lie," Arthur frowned.

Merlin stroked Arthur’s cheek, outlining his jawline. "Yes, but so is hiding." He lowered his head, staring at his lap. "I know it's not perfect, but neither is the world."

"All right," Arthur conceded. "Let's give it a shot."

And that's how Arthur found himself in his bedchambers with his lover dressed in one of Morgana’s old gowns. The former ward of the king was far too gleeful to aid them in this scandal, in Arthur’s opinion.

"What do you think?" Merlin asked too enthusiastically.

"Um," Arthur groaned. "You look like my sister."

Merlin swirled where he stood. "So I look beautiful? I even stuffed the chest." Merlin examined himself, still overly proud of his work.

"This is never going to work." Arthur slapped a hand to his head. "The hair is convincing, however."

"Ow!" Merlin yipped as Arthur tested what he thought was a wig. “It’s my hair. I grew it with a spell.”

"Sorry. It looks..." The king walked around his manservant - or maidservant - or possibly queen - and stroked his chin. "I hate it. I would never marry you if I met you like this.”

A chuckle, that he quickly stifled, escaped Merlin. “That’s because I look like a woman. I think that the fact that you find me so unappealing means I have succeeded.”

“Gods,” Arthur groaned for what felt like the hundredth time in the same day. “Merlin, just take it off and let’s forget the whole thing.”

“No,” Merlin shouted indignantly. “I want to try it.” His tone softened. “Plus, I think I’ve found myself in this dress.”

Arthur’s eyebrow raised and he waited for Merlin to indicate he was joking. “You aren’t serious.”

A wicked smile spread over his lover’s face. “Dresses are pretty, Arthur.”

“Oh, no you don’t.”

Merlin fell into a fit of laughter as Arthur began to stomp over to him. As the king neared, Merlin gathered up his skirts - oh gods, like a girl - and ran off, giggling incessantly. Tackling Merlin to the ground, Arthur won the chase. “I give in!” Merlin gasped.

“Say you hate the dress!” Arthur demanded in his most kingly voice.

“Never!” Merlin retorted.

There was a bit of wrestling and more giggling before Merlin finally calmed down and looked up at Arthur, who was studying the gorgeous man below him. Arthur bent down to kiss his hairline, then Merlin’s pink lips. The other man hummed in approval. “So, can we put an end to this foolish stunt?” Arthur asked, moving to kiss Merlin’s neck.

Sitting up, Merlin nodded. “If you really hate it, yes we can.”

Arthur sat up too and placed his hands on his hips. “I can’t imagine you like this always, even if it were only in public." He began stroking his lover's arm gingerly. "I just want to be with you, Merlin. And whatever trials I have to face because of that, I’m willing to face them. For you. Because I love you more than anything. If Camelot was really destined to be brought together because of us, then I see no other way I could rule. Please Merlin, will you be by my side, always?”

“As your queen?” His eyes widened, hopefully.

Arthur answered with a kiss. “As Merlin.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> People like to play around with gender swapping in fics, but I wanted to see how Arthur would react if Merlin were to actually do that. This was written in about 15 minutes as a joke, but I liked how it turned out. I also like referencing some of Arthur's last words in the show: "I want you to always be you." I hope you enjoy!


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